


campfire

by ren_sauce



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Camping, F/M, RICH IS /BI/ YOU COWARDS, Sharing a Bed, also, and this is probably OOC, brooke is salty, but DAMN is this ship cute, but also flustered, chloe and jake are bad friends but it pays off, don't even ship them that much, honestly i just had an urge to write for this ship and i don't know why, just... please, my boy rich did not almost die in a fire for yall to make insensitive jokes about it, petition to change the shipname from arsonberry to expensive yoghurt, rich is an honest drunk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-15 01:15:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16923834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ren_sauce/pseuds/ren_sauce
Summary: "You okay?" Rich frowned with those stupid big brown eyes of his."I'm fine." Brooke said slowly, clenching the fabric of her sleeping bag beneath her fists."I hate it when people say that." Rich huffed, flopping back on his sleeping bag. "Like - they say 'oh yeah, I'm fine', and you know they're not fine, but if you keep asking they get mad, but if you don't say anything at all, they still get mad!"Brooke sucked in a breath. "I'm not mad."Rich rose an eyebrow. "You sure?""I'm not." Brooke growled. "Just a little tired that whenever I plan something for three months with the girl who's supposed to be my best friend, she ends up ditching me for the nearest fucking guy, shoves me in a tent with said guys asshole friend, and expects me to just deal with it all on my own!"... Okay, maybe she was a little mad.





	campfire

**Author's Note:**

> yknow i have actual wips to be working on? and aus and multichaps and stuff? and instead i just do this shit?

  
Brooke wasn't mad.

It wasn't a big deal, really. It was just a little annoying. They'd planned this whole big camping trip, right down to the last marshmallow, for the past three months. Everything had been arranged; drive down to the woods, guys in Michael's car, girls in Chloe's, find a place to set up camp, have their food, play some games, dance a little, and then go to sleep, one tent between two people. They'd had it all planned; Michael with Jeremy, Christine with Jenna, Rich with Jake, and Chloe with Brooke.

But then, as per _fucking usual-_

"You think Chloe and Jake're fuckin' yet?" Rich slurred as he collapsed onto his sleeping bag.

"Don't really wanna think about it, thanks." Brooke said through gritted teeth. Of all people. Of all people, she had to be bunked with Rich. Nothing against Rich, obviously, but... Rich had never been a particularly nice person. At least, the Rich she knew hadn't. She knew he was different now; he was trying to be different, at least. That was nice. But it still didn't erase years of dealing with Old Rich.

"You okay?" Rich frowned with those stupid big brown eyes of his. He looked like a fucking puppy, where was the Old Rich!?

"I'm fine." Brooke said slowly, clenching the fabric of her sleeping bag beneath her fists.

"I hate it when people say that." Rich huffed, flopping back on his sleeping bag. "Like - they say 'oh yeah, I'm fine', and you know they're not fine, but if you keep asking they get mad, but if you don't say anything at all, they still get mad!"

Brooke sucked in a breath. "I'm not mad."

Rich rose an eyebrow. "You sure?"

"I'm _not_." Brooke growled. "Just a little tired that whenever I plan something for three months with the girl who's supposed to be my best friend, she ends up ditching me for the nearest fucking guy, shoves me in a tent with said guys asshole friend, and expects me to just deal with it all on my own!"

... Okay, maybe she was a little mad.

"Oh." Rich mumbled. "Um... I'm sorry."

Brooke sighed. "No. It's not your fault."

"Well, I am the asshole friend you got shoved into a tent with, so..." Rich shrugged. "I think I played a part."

"You're not an asshole." Brooke said quietly. "I'm sorry for saying that."

"Don't be. I was an asshole."

"Kind of." Brooke mumbled. "But you're not anymore, so! That's good!"

Rich went quiet for a moment. Brooke sighed, pulling her sleeping bag over her shoulders. No wonder Chloe didn't like being around her...

"Hey." Rich said gently, poking her cheek. "Stop that."

"Stop what?" Brooke frowned, leaning away from his prodding.

"Your face!" Rich declared. "It's your 'I feel bad so I'm gonna talk shit about myself until I realize that I deserve to feel bad' face. S'fucking annoying! Stop it."

Brooke snorted, quickly lifting a hand to her mouth, as if to shove the noise back in.

"How drunk are you right now?"

Rich went quiet again, his eyes drifting from left to right like the meme of the lady with the equations.

"... Seven." Rich nodded finally.

"What?"

"Like, out of ten?" Rich elaborated. "I am seven out of ten on the drunk scale."

Brooke tried to smother another snort. "The drunk scale?"

"Patent pending." Rich fingergunned, shooting her a wink. Brooke couldn't help but laugh at that, shoving her sleeping bag over her mouth to quiet her giggles.

Rich laughed with her, cute little snorts bubbling in his throat. It should've been gross. It wasn't.

"Dude, it is cold as balls in here." Rich said once his laughter had died down.

"I know, right?" Brooke huffed. "Trust us to be the ones stuck in the tiny tent with no blankets."

"Too true." Rich groaned, huddling in his sleeping bag. "I've been kicked out in the cold by Jake's fuckbuddies too many times to count! Whaddya bet they have like, three blankets and a comforter in there?"

"Knowing Chloe, she probably had this planned." Brooke sighed, trying to fight off a shiver and failing. "God, it's freezing..."

Rich frowned at her curiously, gnawing on his lower lip as the gears worked in his head.

"Hey." He said finally, nudging her side. "Open up your bag, would ya?"

"What?" Brooke frowned, grabbing her sleeping bag protectively.

"We can zip them together and make a big bag!" Rich explained, eyes wide with delight at his new plan. "Then we'll be warmer!"

Brooke bit her lip. She'd never shared a bed with a boy before. Well - she had, but only in relationship circumstances, and even then, they always hogged the covers.

But Rich looked so excited and hopeful...

She sighed, unzipping her bag. They might as well - it was really cold. Besides, she trusted Rich not to do anything.

"Yes!" Rich grinned, shuffling over so they could zip their sleeping bags together and making himself comfortable near the middle. Brooke winced internally, squirming away so she was tucked in the edge of her sleeping bag.

Rich raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "This isn't going to work if you're all the way over there, Brooke."

"What?" Brooke huffed indignantly. "Sure it will! See? Big bag!"

"No!" Rich protested. "Now we've got a big gap and the cold's gonna come in! You gotta get closer!"

Brooke narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "I am not spooning with you, Richard."

"What - no!" Rich squawked. "Just - get closer is all! No cuddling necessary, damn!"

Brooke huffed, reluctantly shuffling forward.

"There, see?" Rich smiled, edging towards her so there was less of a gap. "Not hard."

Brooke remained stubbornly silent, curling in on herself protectively. Rich's smile faded.

"Brooke, if - if this is making you uncomfortable, we don't have to." He said gently. Brooke blinked, taken aback by his soft tone and even softer words.

"It's fine." She mumbled. "Just - not used to this."

"Sharing with a guy?"

"Sharing with you."

"Oh." Rich blinked. "I'm sorry."

"No - don't be, just - ugh!" She groaned, rolling onto her back and immediately wincing at the cold. "This whole trip sucks."

"It does?" Rich frowned. "I mean yeah, the whole being ditched by our friends part sucks, but... I thought this was kinda fun."

Brooke blinked, turning to face him. "This?"

"Yeah." Rich nodded, smiling gently. "You're fun."

Brooke opened her mouth to reply, but immediately cut herself off with a shiver.

"Fuck." She hissed against the cold. "Okay, get over here, we're doing this."

"Um." Rich blanked. "What?"

"Rich Goranski, fucking spoon with me!"

Rich flushed, Adams apple bobbing dangerously. He shuffled over awkwardly, tucking himself into Brooke's side. They stayed there for a moment, stiffly situated against each other, until Rich huffed and pulled himself up.

"This isn't working." He muttered. "Can you go on your back?"

"What? Why?"

"Just - please? If it's uncomfortable then we can just stop."

"Oh - fine." Brooke sighed, rolling onto her back again. Rich swallowed, leaning over and downwards, awkwardly moving over Brooke's body until his head was resting on her stomach.

"Um?" Brooke spluttered, that being the only word she could make herself say.

"Sorry." Rich sighed, pushing himself up on his arms. "No good?"

"No, it's - it's good!" God he was so fucking warm and his hair was so soft he was like a human hot water bottle how was that possible?! "It's fine, just - yeah."

"... Okay." Rich said cautiously, lowering himself back down and letting his full weight rest on her lower body.

"... You're, um." Brooke said awkwardly. "R-Really warm."

"S'cause I'm _hot."_ Rich smirked, propping his chin on her belly and shooting her a fingergun. "Get it?"

She laughed quietly. "I get it."

"Nice." Rich smiled sleepily, snuggling his cheek onto her stomach and sighing contently. "You're, like - super soft."

"Oh, um - thanks."

"No prob." Rich yawned. "And you're pretty. Y'know that? You're super pretty. Pretty and soft. And warm. 'Cept for your feet, your feet are cold as fuck. You want me to warm 'em up?"

"My feet are fine, thank you." Brooke giggled softly. "And, um. Thanks. For calling me pretty."

"It's the truth." Rich mumbled sleepily. "See? I'm nice. I'm a nice boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Brooke asked, suddenly more awake than ever. "I - Rich, you're not my boyfriend."

"'M not?" Rich frowned, his eyes foggy with sleep deprivation and alcohol. "Dammit. Thought I woulda asked by now. Or did I already ask and you said no? 'Cause that makes sense too, like. You're super pretty."

"You, um." Brooke spluttered. "You - you didn't ask."

"Man, that sucks." Rich huffed, nuzzling her stomach. "Nice going, me."

"You're drunk." Brooke said carefully, more to herself than Rich. "You are very, very drunk right now."

"Only a seven." Rich pouted. "Not that drunk. Just - above average drunk is all."

"You don't want to be my boyfriend." Brooke said quietly to herself. "You're just drunk. And tired. Very tired."

"Rude." Rich pouted. "I can still be nice when I'm drunk. Like - the SQUIP! Yeah, the SQUIP, it told me to date you. Y'know that? It told me to, but I said no."

"Wow." Brooke said, unimpressed. "So even a supercomputer couldn't get you to date me. I'm real convinced."

"No!" Rich protested childishly. "It told me to date you so I could get popular and I said no! 'Cause I wanted to date you properly!"

Brooke froze. "You..." She mumbled. "You did?"

"Yeah!" Rich huffed, clearly offended. "And you were so sad all the time, too. I didn't wanna make it worse."

"... Sad?" Brooke said quietly. "I wasn't sad..."

"Were too." Rich said, matter-of-factly. "Chloe was mean to you a lot 'cause you were still friends with Madeline, and you'd just broken up with your boyfriend, and your parents were getting divorced and you were worried about failing Spanish and-"

"I-I'm sorry - when was this?"

"Oh." Rich blinked. "I think, like... The end of sophomore year?"

"What?!" Brooke gasped. "Rich, that's like - two years!"

"What? No, it isn't, it's..." Rich frowned, counting on his fingers. "Oh shit, yeah, that's - that's two years. Yeah. Okay. That's cool."

"No, it's not!" Brooke spluttered. "You've liked me for two years and you never did anything?!"

"Whaddya think I'm doing right now?"

"That's not the point!"

"Hey, whoa!" Rich said quickly, pulling on of Brooke's hands to his hair to help ground her. "Hey, it's okay. It's cool. We're cool."

"We're not." Brooke whispered as she stroked Rich's hair gently. "This - this is not cool."

"... I'm sorry." Rich mumbled. "I can take it back, if you want."

"Wh- no, Rich, that's not..." Brooke sighed, smiling gently as she shook her head. "You don't have to take it back."

Rich brightened. "I don't?"

"No. We're cool."

"Awesome." Rich grinned, wrapping his arms around Brooke's waist and snuggling into her stomach. "You're the coolest. I like you so much."

"... Me too." Brooke said quietly.

"Good. You should like yourself."

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Ha ha."

"What's funny?" Rich said indignantly. "You should like yourself! You're awesome!"

"Oh - oh you were actually - okay..." Brooke murmured, her nails scratching his scalp gently.

"Fuck, that's the stuff..." Rich sighed, leaning into her hand. "Man, that's fuckin'... That's fuckin' good..."

"Keep it PG, Richard." Brooke giggled. "... You're sweet. You know that?"

"Fuck yeah." Rich grinned sleepily. "I'm the sweetest."

"Yeah, you are." Brooke smiled, stifling a yawn. "Warm, too."

"So're you." Rich murmured. "Soft and warm."

"You said that already."

"S'cuz it's true." Rich sighed. Brooke melted a little.

"You're cute." She smiled. "I can't believe I dated assholes like Dustin Kropp when you were here this whole time."

"Mph, I was an asshole, too." Rich mumbled. "You said it yourself. Asshole friend."

"Oh - Rich, that wasn't-"

"No, it's okay. It's true." Rich shrugged. "I mean, yeah, it was the SQUIP, sure, but I'm the one who listened. Honestly, I'm kinda glad I didn't ask you out then. You wouldn't've liked me."

"Maybe not..." Brooke said gently. "What about before you took the SQUIP?"

"Oh, no. No, that wouldn't've worked either."

"Why not?"

"I mean, you might've liked me." Rich shrugged. "But I didn't. I hated me. I would've been too busy feeling sorry for myself to be a good boyfriend. No, it's good it was now. I'm good now. I think."

"You're very good now." Brooke smiled, carding her fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry for calling you an asshole. You've been trying really hard."

"Thanks." Rich smiled gratefully. "You're really nice."

"You, too." Brooke grinned. "Like you said. You're good now."

Rich smiled up at her dopily. He chuckled against her stomach, nuzzling against her as some sort of thank you.

"Um. Brooke?" He asked quietly, after a small moment of silence. "If... If I did ask you out now... Would you say yes?"

Brooke frowned, biting her lip. "I don't think so."

"Oh..." Rich said quietly. "Y-Yeah, okay..."

"But..." Brooke said carefully, trying to ignore the way her heart flipped when Rich looked up at her hopefully. "If you asked me out when you were sober... And, y'know, weren't super sleep deprived... Then maybe."

Rich's lips quirked into a huge grin.

"Okay, then." He smiled, squeezing her waist gently. "I'll ask you again. When I'm sober. And awake."

"That'd be nice." Brooke smiled gently, petting his hair again. "First date is Pinkberry. No exceptions."

"Man!" Rich whined. "Unfair. I wanted to hit up the park!"

"Pinkberry, then park?"

"Awesome!" Rich grinned. "We can pet the dogs!"

"That sounds amazing." Brooke smiled. "We'd better go to sleep, then. We'll get there faster."

Rich frowned, his tired drunk brain trying to make sense of that information.

"... Okay..." He mumbled, still not entirely convinced. "Yeah, okay. G'night, Brooke."

"Goodnight, Rich." Brooke said quietly, biting back a giggle at the way Rich snuggled into her stomach. He almost immediately started snoring, soft rumbles coming from his stomach. Brooke couldn't help but smile.

She sighed sleepily, leaning back and letting Rich's warmth envelope her.

She wasn't mad. Not anymore.


End file.
